Pass In Time, Dreams Do Not
by The Peridot Shade
Summary: Dark times bring darker dreams. Two years before TPM, Obi-Wan Kenobi, who has been having visions for years, foresees the fall of Anakin Skywalker and faces the dilemma of warning a master who doesn't believe in visions before it is too late...
1. Chapter 1

_The proud figure remained in the doorway as the clones approached the Archives, led by an all-too-familiar man with an ignited lightsaber clutched in his fist. The severe chin of Jedi Master Jocasta Nu lifted when the man halted in front of her._

_ "Why do you fight?" the newly-turned Darth Vader growled, "You must know resistance is futile."_

_ Madam Nu's eyes flashed. "I am Jedi," she proclaimed, "I face death without flinching. These Archives contain the sum of the knowledge of the wisest members of the Jedi Order. I preserve that knowledge with my life, or my death if that is what the Force requires of me."_

_ Vader studied her, his anger growing with every word she spoke. "Then die you shall," he snarled, striking out with his lightsaber._

_ Jocasta Nu melted away from his blade, leaving only empty robes. As she vanished, Darth Vader peered into the Archives she had concealed with her body._

_ Empty._

_ No data terminals remained on tables, no holograms in niches lined the walls, no datapads rested on their usual shelves. Even the busts of the Lost Twenty were missing._

_ The Jedi Archives were gone._

_ In that instant, when the Dark warrior who once was Anakin Skywalker realized that Madam Jocasta Nu had indeed preserved the Jedi knowledge with her death, Darth Vader let loose an echoing scream of rage that spurred the younglings slipping out of the Temple on to greater speed…_

…and Obi-Wan Kenobi woke suddenly to the cool night air of the Jedi Temple, a night fifteen years before the scene in his dream. The sound of his master's snores continued unchanged in the room next to his.

Taking a moment to slow his breathing, Obi-Wan slipped out of bed, padding over to the orderly desk with its carefully arranged datapads and repair kits. He stooped slightly to open the main drawer, but took no notice of the various tools arranged in ordered rows within the drawer, instead running his finger along the underside of the desktop. Obi-Wan let out a soft breath as he found the raised circle and pressed.

A soft click echoed in the silent room. Obi-Wan paused as Qui-Gon's snores caught for a moment, hardly daring to breathe until the rhythmic snorts resumed. He reached into the small compartment that had dropped down from beneath the desktop and pulled out a comlink. Obi-Wan carefully closed both the compartment and the drawer and crept quietly out of his room and onto the balcony attached to the rooms he shared with his master.

Still in his sleeping clothes, Obi-Wan settled himself upon the duracrete floor and pressed the button that would connect him directly to the only person this particular comlink would call.

A moment later, a voice picked up. "Know, do you, what hour it is, Padawan Kenobi?"

"I apologize, Master Yoda, but the last time we spoke, you requested that I inform you immediately if there were any changes."

"Another vision, you have had so soon? Hmm. Troubling, this is. Speak in person, we must. Report, you will, to the Council Chambers at 0700 hours. Speak privately, we will, before arrive the Council does. Another mission will you be assigned, when arrive your master does at 0800 hours."

"Yes, Master."

"Be with you, the Force will, Obi-Wan."

"And with you, Master Yoda."

Obi-Wan Kenobi shut off the comlink, placed his hands in his lap, and sat in meditative silence until the sun's weakest rays began to chase away the Coruscanti nightlife.


	2. Chapter 2

**I forgot to write a disclaimer in the first chapter, so here it is: I do not own Star Wars. If I did, Obi-Wan Kenobi would be all-powerful. Alas, I do not, for the galaxy far, far away deserves more of Obi-Wan.**

Light crept in through the window of Qui-Gon Jinn's bedroom, tumbling across white sheets, feathering over rough-hewn features, and spilling into the closed eyes of the man who was sleeping, deep within the embrace of the Living Force he loved so much. That love would prove perilous for Qui-Gon Jinn, for even now his Force-sense was blind to the ripples tearing through the web of fate and to their effect upon his twenty-two year old Padawan.

Oblivious to the turmoil wracking both the Unifying Force and the minds of some of the Jedi Order's best and brightest, the "Maverick Jedi" woke from a peaceful sleep and went about his morning routine while humming a tune that died in his throat when he exited his room and felt the breeze from the open door leading to the balcony. Reaching out for Obi-Wan's mind, he found only a distant impression of contemplation issuing from the balcony.

Qui-Gon peeked out the door. His Padawan was seated in a meditative posture just outside the door, obviously having risen before dawn to meditate. He frowned slightly. (Why was the boy still dressed in a white loose tunic and sleeping pants?) Qui-Gon shrugged, not overly concerned. Obi-Wan most likely had not wished to disturb Qui-Gon with the clattering of drawers before first light.

He called out, "Obi-Wan? Come inside and eat something before we report for our mission briefing this morning. We only have a couple of hours."

Obi-Wan unfolded himself from his meditative pose and stretched. Qui-Gon noted absently that the boy was unusually stiff for what surely had been only a brief meditation.

His thoughts were interrupted by Obi-Wan's quiet "Good morning, master," as the apprentice passed him on the way inside.

Qui-Gon busied himself with preparing a light breakfast of tea, toast, and fresh fruit as Obi-Wan disappeared briefly into the Padawan's room, reemerging fully dressed in robe, tunic, and leggings and stamping into shin-high boots.

Obi-Wan sat opposite the master and efficiently demolished his breakfast, only slowing enough to ask, "May I meet you in the Council Chambers, Master? Master Yoda requested my presence at 0700 hours."

"Certainly, Padawan," Qui-Gon answered, eating his own breakfast unhurriedly, "Be respectful when you speak with Master Yoda. And you'd better not bother him with any of that 'bad feeling' nonsense you've been spouting recently."

For a moment, Obi-Wan's eyes flashed grey with some unidentifiable emotion (anger? fear? pain?) before subsiding into a tired blue-grey. He nodded obediently. "Yes, Master."

Something about Obi-Wan's response bothered Qui-Gon, but he quickly pushed the unease aside. (There was no point worrying. Obi-Wan would tell him if something was wrong.)

Obi-Wan rose from the table and headed for the door, stopping to grab a datapad before pausing in front of the door. "See you at the mission briefing, Master," he said, pressing the door release and striding out into the corridor, the door hissing closed behind him.

Qui-Gon Jinn continued his leisurely breakfast, once again humming quietly to himself.


	3. Chapter 3

**I apologize for taking so long to update. I started college, plus I somehow managed to contract pneumonia, and then I was preoccupied with some fairly serious family problems.**

**Please do not stop reading because I've added OCs. They are necessary to the plotline, and I've always thought that there's no way the canon characters are the only Jedi in the Temple. **

**I should probably also mention, for those of you who haven't figured it out, this is a slight AU. My theory is that certain parts of the future can be changed while others are inevitable. You'll see that reflected in this chapter.**

**Also, I most likely will not be updating from June 10 to July 25 or so.**

Master Yoda was waiting when Obi-Wan slipped into the Council Chamber, seated in his usual chair. Three meditation cushions had been placed in a semi-circle in front of the ancient Jedi. Pale golden light brushed idly against the cushions, lingering on the seat farthest to Obi-Wan's right as he walked into the room.

"Good morning, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan greeted the Grandmaster.

"Hmmph. Good, this morning is not. Felt your distress, the other two did. Banged loudly on my door before dawn, they did. Your fault, this is," Yoda grumbled.

Obi-Wan struggled to hide a laugh behind a cough. "My fault, Master?"

"Hmm. Yes. Your fault, it is. Blame the Unifying Force, I cannot."

Obi-Wan laughed in long bursting gasps that bordered on hysteria. Tears ran down his cheeks and he shook, finally releasing the emotions that had hounded him through the night. Several long minutes passed before he could compose himself.

The Jedi Master smiled. "Better, that is. Speak of your vision, you will, when arrive the others do."

Obi-Wan walked over to the cushion on the right, settling comfortably on the soft surface.

At that moment, the doors burst open and a small beige blur hurled itself at Obi-Wan, almost knocking him off the cushion. The blur soon resolved into a human girl no older than eight or nine, whose arms had locked tight around the Padawan's waist.

Obi-Wan smiled down at the chin-length light brown hair that was all he could see of the little Initiate who had buried her head in his chest. "Come on, Kylin, it's nothing too serious. I'm fine now."

The head lifted, revealing a band of freckles beneath large hazel eyes that regarded him tearfully. "Promise?" Kylin asked, "Promise me the visions aren't getting worse?"

"I promise. They're getting better, actually. It looks like the evacuation drills have had an effect," Obi-Wan reassured the child who clung to him.

Yoda's ears perked up. "Survive, the younglings do, in this latest vision?"

"Yes, Master. However, Madam Nu did not."

"What didn't Madam Nu do?" a new voice cut in. A Mirialan teenage boy stood in the doorway, pale skin shining in the early morning light. His ancestral markings curved down from the outer corners of his eyes in a line of dots. Dark eyes gazed at Obi-Wan with concern. "You are well, brother?" the younger Padawan asked formally, his black lips trembling with repressed anxiety.

Obi-Wan smiled at him. "I am well, Dulad Kani. The Dreaming Sight is troublesome, but it does no harm to its possessors."

"No harm, it does? Hmmph. Sleeping little, great harm does." The grandmaster eyed his protégé sternly.

Dulad entered the room, settling himself on the leftmost cushion. Kylin, finally detaching from Obi-Wan, seated herself in the center, still shooting teary glances at the Senior Padawan.

"Begin we will. The Circle of Youth complete is. An Elder of the Circle present is. On behalf of the Dreamer, called this Circle is. Speak his vision, the Dreamer now must."

Obi-Wan cleared his throat. "Darkness comes and the Circle is ready. In the Dark there is a Truth, and in a dream the Truth came to me. One comes swiftly on Time's Flow who will fall and rise again, and many will lie slain by His hand. Knowledge will be preserved at the cost of its Guardian, but through the actions of the Circle, the youngest shall be preserved. This I dreamed, and this I present to the Circle."

Master Yoda closed his eyes. "Ancient, the Circle is, yet never before has the future so dire been. Watchers and Guardians we are of that which comes. Yet endure, the Circle will, though Darkness swallows Fate's webs." He opened his eyes. "Open, this Circle is, to discussion."

Dulad frowned, "Madam Nu dies, you said, brother?"

Obi-Wan bowed his head. "I saw her die on the blade of the Chosen One."

Kylin reached over to touch his arm. "It will be okay, brother, the younglings survive."

"And what of the Padawans, the Knights, the Masters? What of _you_, sister? You will no longer be a youngling, or even a Padawan. You will be a target!" Obi-Wan snapped, tears in his eyes.

"Enough, that is! Immortal the Jedi are not. Accept that, you will, young Dreamer. And you, Speaker, too attached to the Dreamer, you are. Let go you must." Yoda eyed the two sternly, shaking his gimer stick at them. The two looked down in shame.

"I'm no longer certain that is true, Master Yoda," Dulad said, brow furrowed. "I have seen shatterpoints of late that indicate that attachment is inevitable, perhaps even necessary to the survival of the Order. I've consulted with Master Windu and he agrees with me. I encountered the Princess of Theed, Amidala, on a recent mission to Naboo, and there are so many fate lines connected to her it's like gazing into the eye of a storm. I think she may be the mother who dies in childbirth in some of your earlier visions, Obi-Wan, and your prophecies, Kylin."

Yoda transferred his gaze to the younger Padawan. "Think do you, young Tracer, that the attachment of the Chosen One to his wife inevitable is? Or refer, do you, to other attachments?"

"Both," Dulad answered. "I believe it will be Obi-Wan's connection to both the Chosen One and his children that will save the galaxy in the end."

Obi-Wan's gaze jumped from Yoda to him. "Surely not, brother," he said with a self-deprecating laugh, "All I will do is die in the end."

"But what of before that?" Dulad shot back. "You will be the Master of the Chosen One, and the guardian of his son. Is that truly so little as you think? By the Force, brother, it is for love of his children that Darth Vader will return to the Light! Can you not see how your actions will bring that about?"

Obi-Wan's gaze grew cold. "I see enough."

The whole room grew very still. The light that filtered in through the windows no longer seemed to warm the four Jedi's bones.

Dulad faltered under his friend's glare. "I-I beg your pardon, Dreamer," he stammered, "I did not mean to offend."

Obi-Wan sighed. "I'm not offended, brother, but you would do well to remember the price that we must pay if we are to succeed."

"Speaks truly, the Dreamer does. Listen, you should, young Tracer. Much sorrow and pain ahead lie. Our duty, we will do. Turn this discussion, we shall, to our course of action." Yoda gazed around the circle of youths. "Found in the Crèche what news there are, Speaker?"

"The drills are going well, Master Yoda. Most of my age-mates and those younger think it great fun to wander in the secret tunnels, so they don't mind the drills at all. Some of the older children have been questioning the Crèche Masters, but they seem to accept that it's because of new safety measures. I think some of the Masters have been using the story about Xanatos and Bruck Chun to convince the older initiates, so you'll probably be asked about it at some point, Obi-Wan." Kylin scrunched her nose. "They're so nosy sometimes! Darra and Tru keep asking me where I go when I come to meet with the Circle."

Obi-Wan smiled. "I assume you know how to divert them before they find out too much, hmm?"

Kylin giggled. "It's easy! All I have to do is bring back snacks!"

"Hmm, hmm, hmm," Yoda chuckled, "Know your age-mates well, you do, Initiate Saeroine. Your Master, what thinks she of your absence, Padawan Kani?"

"She doesn't mind, Master Yoda. Master Yaddle knows you wouldn't ask for me if it wasn't important." Dulad smiled contentedly.

As one, the Circle turned to Obi-Wan. "And your Master, brother? Does he suspect what we do here?" Dulad asked, concern in his dark eyes.

Obi-Wan sighed. "No, he doesn't suspect, but he doesn't heed any of the necessary warnings either. He all but forbade me to speak of what he called 'that "bad feeling" nonsense'."

Yoda's ears drooped. "Stubborn, Master Jinn is. Hoped, I did, that listen he would, but appears, it does, that in vain my hope was. Speak with him, I will, Obi-Wan, after the Council meeting."

"Thank you, Master Yoda," Obi-Wan replied.

Silence reigned in the room until Dulad spoke. "I have an idea for how to ensure that the Archives are relocated and possibly save some of the Knights who will be fairly young when all of this happens."

The other occupants of the room turned to him in interest.

"We'll select ten current Initiates, ten current Padawans, and ten current Senior Padawans we think are trustworthy, ones Obi-Wan hasn't seen in any of his visions, and train them to remove the Archives and take them to a secure location where they will wait until they receive a signal that Master Yoda will teach to the Chosen One's son. Half of them will be Archivists or Healers, so that they'll definitely be on Coruscant when the Chosen One turns. We can set up a signal that Master Windu can send when the Chosen One informs the Council of the Sith Lord's identity. That way they'll have a head start of about an hour, maybe more, considering the distance to the Supreme Chancellor's office," Dulad explained.

"A good idea, this is. Consider, we must, to where relocated the Archives shall be." Yoda frowned, nodding. "Consult with Masters Windu and Nu, I shall. Closed, this meeting of the Circle is. Accompany me, you will, Padawan Kenobi."

At that, the four Jedi rose from their cushions and separated with murmurs of "May the Force be with you."

Master Yoda walked beside Obi-Wan in silence until they reached the Council chambers, where he patted the Padawan's knee. "Well all will be, Obi-Wan. Medical leave you will be given, if anything to say I have!" He stumped into the Council chambers, leaving the stunned Padawan behind to wait for Qui-Gon Jinn.


End file.
